Down Memory Lane Pt.2 and 3

 Journey to Palakkad  from Chennai

When we reached Olavakode It was midnight.  At  that hour no conveyence was available. Taxi service too was not  possible because it had to be booked in advance. A shuttle train to Puddunagaram was likely to reach at 2 am. There was no option but to wait for that train. We spent the time in the retiring room  of Olavakode  station. At 2 am the train arrived.It was an apology for a train. There were  no window panes, the wooden seats were shaky and a stinking smell pervaded in the train. It reached Pudunagaram station at 5 am.A distance of about 20 kilometres was covered in three hours. From Pudunagaram, Tattamangalam is only five kilometres away. At Pudunagaram a  bullock cart was waiting for us. I was very excited  that we would complete the rest of our journey in the Bullock cart. We were carrying  a lot of luggage.The luggage and and both of us with the baby  managed to sit with some difficulty in the    Kala Vandi(Malyalam for Bullock cart)  As the Kala Vandi moved the driver uttered the word 'Moorhi, Moorhi' every five minutes . I was puzzled. I asked my husband what does it mean. He told me  that it means the bull. The morning sun was rising in the eastern horizon. Cool breeze was blowing  which not only refreshed us but but the ordeal of such a long travelling was forgotten. As we proceeded  the sun rays gleaming in the paddy fields  brightened them like gold. As we were nearing the house I was apprehensive in which language I would  converse with my Mother-in-law.My Hubby ,sensing my discomfiture,  consoled me that my fears were completly unfounded. From  a  distance he showed me the Madassery house.It looked like a fort.  I was awe striken. Soon we reached there. A big gate,with the name of the house,S.S.Greenfields,carved on one side and flowers and twines in the forecourt looked very impressive. My M.I.L. and all the other members  of the family  were waiting for us.  I noticed that there were no words  like Namaste or Welcome used by any one but a broad smile on each face was indicative of the warmth  and affection on all faces. Muthassi(grand mother) took us to the family diety Muniappan,to seek His blessings.     

Even though no conversation was exchanged between me and Muthassi, our gestures and smiles  were enough to indicate that both sides liked each other. She was a very noble and pious lady. She was universely liked by the workers. She managed  the affairs of a huge estate single handedly.  Whatever Malyalam I acquired was only because of my desire to converse with her in  Malayalam. My elder Bro-in -law and his family were there.They all could converse in English .

  Tattamangalam Days

 Tattamangalam is a small  township or can even be called a big village. It is about 22 kilometres from Palakkad.It is on the North of Kerala,almost  near the Tamil Nad and Keraia  border

  Hence  the languages spoken here are Tamil and Malayalam.The landscape is beautiful with the Western Ghats  over looking the town. At night from a distant  temple a bright light could be  seen  ,which lent  an aura to the town.Those days there was no electricity in the town.The lamp posts on the main road were lit with kerosine.Inside the house too kerosine oil was used to lighten the house. There was no sewer, hence there were no toilets inside the house. The wash room was away from the main building.At night it was pitch dark.The sounds of several insects along with the breeze lent a supernatural  effect .First two nights  I was frightened by all the vague sounds and could not sleep.

 

 

Morning breakfast was Idli, which was as soft as cotton wool. The Sambaar, the ve

the neighbourhood  came to meet us. They addressed Muthassi as 'Thambratti' which means 'your Highness'.The women folk kept staring at me,It was for the first time they saw someone from a metropolis in their village. They were amused seeing me in sleeveless blouse and  lipstick and speaking English.

We went round the fields.It was my first experience.I  found every thing awesome.From  Tattanangalam we went to Palode, which was the Madasseri Taravad(ancestral house).  Inside the house were displayed the age old  guns and armours. Their  ancestors were warriors.  A family temple is aiso  situated close by. The ruling diety of the temple is Lord Karuppaswami. The whole area emits the flavour  of insense and holy dhup. 

After staying in Tattamagalam we moved to Calicut,Guruvayoor and other places. The visit to these places will figure in part 3.

Part3

 Visit to Kozhikode

Before I proceed with the  next part of our journey I offer my salutations to the family deity, Bhagwan  Sri  KaruppaSwamy.
 
This a very  ancient
temple. Successive generations of 
family members have been the beneficiaries
of God's grace.
Pujas have been regularly held for several decades. 


After staying  in Tattamangalam for about ten days we left for Calicut (now Kozhikode) by train. Muthassi also accompanied us. From the train we could have a  glimpse of  the  eye catching scenarios of the country side.  It  is not for nothing that Kerala is known as 'The God's own country'.  We could see the plush green paddy fields, with women working in them.

(Courtesy google)

  

In this photograph we see  women  transplanting rice seedlings in a paddy  field.

(courtesy google)

Here we  find fertilisation  of  rice. The natural greenery   looks like a plush green carpet. 




  
 Throughout  we could see such captivating  scenes.Another peculiar scene through out was a crowd of people.We cannot  find any deserted  piece of land.  After every few  minutes we find long lines of children  either going to school or coming back from school. It is not surprising that Kerala is the most literate state of the country. We find more  women than men in the fields as well as in the streets. This is the only State in  India  where the  ratio of women is more than men.
At Calicut station my Brother -in-law was present to  receive us. Their house was situated near the Beach. The burn of our son had not yet healed . A doctor had to be consulted. He was given injections.We  used to go the Beach every evening.

                                                   
  This is a picture of my husband  and  son at  the Calicut Beach.







At Calicut  a grand reception was hosted by the editor of a popular Malyalam Newspaper in our honour. More than hundred  people were invited.News of our marriage had already appeared in some Malayam Newspapers. Where ever    we went we were faced with same questions,'where and how we met,''how did we adjust with  food''in which language did we converse' and so on. We were in Calicut  for ten days.The  next halt in our iternary was Guruvayoor.
                           Visiting Guruvayoor 
Guruvayoor is a famous

(courtesy google)

Sri Krishna temple. It is known as the Dwarka of South.The deity here is of Maha Vishnu.  A visit to Kerala is  incomplete without having a Darshan of  Guruvayoor Appan. We also visited the other temples in the vicinity of Guruvayoor.
                             Back to Tattamangalam
After  the pilgrimage we returned to Tattamangalam. The time had passed so fast that we did not even realise we had to go back  to Delhi.We took one last photograph of  the place  near the well. The day of departure came. Muthassi was very particular that nothing auspicious should start  at Rahu Kalam.Whether it was a superstition or not we had to respect her feelings. It so happened that  our time to leave for the Railway Station had to coincide with Rahu Kalam.To circumvent this problem she  got our luggage shifted to our neighbour's house thus signalling that  our return journey to Delhi had already commenced well before Rahu Kalam!! Departure was painful.We got so much love and affection in that period of one month which we always cherish.
                                                       
                                                        

Down Memory Lane.(part 1)

 (Part one)
Today I  am sharing  the memories of my first visit to Kerala. I and my husband got married in the year 1959.Even after a lapse of  fifty three years  I remember all the  events  vividly. Our first visit to Kerala was in May  1961,when my son,D was six months old.
The train journey up to Madras
 Those days air journey was  not as popular as it is now. We went by GT Express  which went only up to Madras (now Chennai) and used to take two nights to reach Madras.We were travelling  in a two berth  first class coupe. Those days first class passenger were treated as VI Ps. A huge slab of ice in a big container was specially kept in our compartment. The night  journey from Delhi to Madras was  comfortable.The train reached Nagpur Station  early morning,where we were given bed tea. The baby was in his Father's lap. My husband was looking for a newspaper when all of a sudden the little baby shrieked.He had pulled the tea tray; the kettle  rolled and boiling hot tea spilled on his legs. Even now when I think of that incident I shudder. The child  was crying uncontrollably. A crowd collected in front of our coupe. Perhaps somebody had informed the Station Master. Within a few minutes the Station Master appeared.He told my husband to carry the baby and follow him. After he got down he shouted  to a Railway employee "GT  ko rok do."The child  was taken to the Railway Hospital  where first aid was provided and the leg was bandaged. All this  while the train was waiting  for more than an hour. These days such good behaviour and concern is unheard of. This  was not all.  After Nagpur, when the train left, at every station  up to Madras  the train  was signalled to stop and a Railway Doctor was waiting to  enquire about the child. They administered  medicines and changed the dressing. Even when we reached Madras, a Doctor was making an  announcement  That we should meet him. We met  him  and    profusely  thanked   him. 
  Stay at Madras
As the train journey was too long, we had planned to halt at Madras for two days. Those two days were hectic. My husband's elder brother was settled in Madras. His Father-in-law, Vasu Menon, was a film producer. He had made his first Hindi Movie 'Jhoola', starring Sunil Dutt and Vyjayanti Mala, which was awaiting release . He arranged a special screening of the Movie for us. Since I was the only Hindi knowing person, he especially  asked for my comments. This was my first visit to  the house of a film personality. I was amazed.There were several people residing in that huge house (I can call it a palace)  From morning to night  the Idli grinder  was  moving.
Some one or the other was always at the dining table. There was no count of the number of cars. Some going to pick up guests, some going to leave the guests and some going to the studio and some returning from there.I felt a bit awkward that  my Bro-in-law was staying with his in-laws. My hubby told me about the Matriarchal system, according  to which  the husband  stays in the wife's house.( More about  this system  in another post. ) Two days were spent in sight seeing and shopping. The time to proceed for the next  part of the journey arrived. My Bro-in-law had  arranged  for reservation. We  boarded the the train for Ollvokode(Kerala) and reached the station at mid night.
          (to be continued)

Songs from Dev Anand's Movies

 Dev  Anand was a a versatile actor,directer and producer. He was  a popular hero,  when Dilip kumar and Raj Kapoor were  ruling the silver screen. The songs sung by him were mostly romantic. He was a rage  among the youth of yesteryears. His  style of acting was appreciated by  the audience. I am playing a few of the songs picturised on him.

 This a very popular  song from the Movie Hum Dono ,which was a great hit.Recently it was remade in colour.

                                             Dev Anand singing  jeewan ke safar me rahi
                            from the film Munim Ji The female lead is  Nalini Jayant.
         

                      A  romantic song from Jaal  sung by Hemant Kumar. Geeta Bali  was the heroine.

                                             An emotional song  from the movie Guide.
                                          

                                                             Another very popular song   House  no.44 

                                        
 From the movie Baat ek raat ki                                                                   

    A popular song   from the movie Prem Pujari

There are several other songs  which were hits, but I have selected a few  of his songs.I hope that my friends will enjoy listening to them.


Videos courtesy You Tube

A Message of Peace from The Holy Kumbh Mela.

This  is  a video of the Kumbh Mela which is currently  being held in Allahabad. Kumbh Mela is the biggest congregation of  people,gathered  for spiritual faith.The mela started on 14th January2013 (Makar Sankranti ) and will conclude on  18th March 2013(Maha Shiv Ratri). Kumbh in Hindi means  'a pitcher' and Mela means 'fair).The Devtas  had lost their powers due to a curse  by Rishi Durvasa .They were scared that Asuras  would  become  powerful.They approached Maha Vishnu  for help and guidance. Maha Vishnu advised them to churn the primal ocean(khshira Sagar) and extract Nectar from it, which would make them immortal. The Devtas approached the Asuras, their arch enemy to join them to churn the ocean with a word that they would share all the wealth obtained from the ocean.A huge mountain was used as a churning stone and a  giant serpant was taken as a churning  coil. However when the nectar(Amrit)  appeared,a fight ensued on both sides for the possession of the nectar. They fought for twelve  days and twelve nights(equivalent to twelve human years).Since the Demons  were physically strong  ,they got hold of the pitcher of Nectar. Now Maha Vishnu, diguised as  an Apsara,  took the pitcher and handed over the  to a representative of the Devtas,who  had assumed the form of a bird. While the bird was flying four drops of the nectar dripped at four locations, Haridwar, Ujjaian, Nasik and Allahabad. Each of these towns became the sites for Kumbh Mela.
               It is on these four places Kumbh is held every three years. Millions of people assemble  in these towns. It is believed that a bath in the holy rivers in these towns  would wash away all the sins  of those who participate  in  the Melas. Several religious  discourses ,discussions, prayers  and assemblies are a regular  feature. Another important ritual is poor feeding.
Mark Twain, a  famous author ,on visiting the Kumbh Mela remarked," It is wonderful, the power of a faith like that, that and can make mutitudes upon multitudes of the old and the weak and the young  and frail enter without hesitation or complaint upon such incredible journeys and endure the resultant miseries without repining. It is done in love,or it is done in fear,I do not know which it is. No matter what the impulse is the act born of it is beyond imagination  and marvellous to our kind of people, the cold whites."

 Video courtesy  You Tube

Hope its not the end!

In the Delhi rape case a new twist has come to light. It now transpires that  the sixth victim in this case  is a  minor and thus cannot be convicted.The tragedy is he was the most devilish of all those devils.He was most violent in this unfortunate incident. In an important development in the Delhi gang-rape case, the Juvenile Justice Board on Monday ruled that the sixth accused in the December16 incident is a juvenile. The Juvenile Board has said that the accused is a juvenile according to the birth certificate  submitted by the Principal of the school. He will become a major in June 2013.According to Juvenile Board rules,  an  accused can be sentenced  for three years, if convictedd.  The  petitioners are believed  to have petitioned to the Hon'ble Court to pronounce death sentence to the accused.It is frightening to think that after he becomes a major he will indulge in such heinous crimes  with a vengeance.

The Central and State Govts have agreed to reduce the age of attaining  majority from 18 to 16 years But this will be effective only from the date when the order to this effect is issued and not with retrospective effect. Lets hope that this not the end for punishing this rascal.

Random thoughts!

Many times when reading books, magazines ,newspapers or mails from friends etc we come across certain  words, sentences or incidents which  remain etched in our memory .These words, sayings or  incidents may not in any way affect  your thoughts or actions but  you find them amusing, thought provoking  and interesting that you feel like sharing them with others. I am jotting  down some  such collections  which I have  read from various sources.

1  You may have seen this before, but it is still awesome - I did not know this.

 
The letters 'a', 'b', 'c' & 'd' do not appear anywhere in the spellings of numbers 1 to 99
(Letter 'd' comes for the first time in Hundred)

Letters 'a', 'b' & 'c' do not appear anywhere in the spellings of 1 to 999

(Letter 'a' comes for the first time in Thousand)

Letters 'b' & 'c' do not appear anywhere in the spellings of 1 to 999,999,999

(Letter 'b' comes for the first time in Billion)

and Letter 'c' does not appear anywhere in the spellings of entire English Counting!

2-   Thought provoking

       Work for  a CAUSE

            Not  APPLAUSE

         Live life  to EXPRESS

            Not  to   IMPRESS

          Don't try to make your 

         presence NOTICED just try

     to make your absence  FELT.

      

3    Will make you laugh

 Lawyers should never ask grandmas a question if they aren’t prepared for the answer!

In a trial, a small-town prosecuting attorney called his first witness, an elderly grandmother to the stand He approached her  and asked, ,"Mrs.Jones.do you know me?The old lady replied,"Why,yes I know you Mr. Williams. I know you were a young boy and frankly you are a big disappointment to me...You lie.You cheat your wife.You manipulate people and talk against them behind their back,You think you are a big shot when you don't even have the brains to realise that you never will  amount to push more than a two-bit paper pusher. Yes I know you."

 The lawyer was stunned! Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, "Mrs. Jones, do you know the defence attorney (the opponent's lawyer)?" 

She again replied, "Why, yes, I do. I've known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster. He's lazy, bigoted, and has a  drinking problem. He can't build a normal relationship with anyone  and his law practice is one of the worst in the state. Not to  mention he cheated on his wife with three different women. One of  them was your wife. ..Yes I know him."   The Defence Attorney nearly  died.

The judge asked both lawyers to approach the bench and in a quiet  voice said: "If either of you rascals asks her if she knows me,  I'll send you to jail for contempt of court !!!

4 .WILL MAKE YOU PONDER

                                                               Man O Man 

                              When he has no money he eats vegetables

                  When he has money he eats vegetables in a fine restaurant

                           When he is without money, he rides bicycle to work; 

                              When he has money, he rides bicycle to exercise.

When he is without money, he walks to eat food 

;

When he has money, he walks to burn food.

When he is without money,he rides a bicycle to work 

When he has money,he rides a bicycle to exercise

When he is without money he wishes to get married

When he has money,he wishes to get divorced;

When he is without money,his wife becomes secretary,

when he has money ,his secretary becomes his wife

When he has no money, he acts like a rich man

When he has money,he acts like a pauper;

 He says share market is bad;but keeps speculating

He says money is bad, but keeps on craving for it;

He says high positions are lonely but he keeps struggling for that

,

He says gambling &drinking is bad,but keeps on indulging in that.

He never means what he says; and never says what he means !

He simply can't tell a simple truth!! 

 

.

.

__,_._,___

----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

        

                 

                          

.

__

.

__,_._,___

.

__,_._,___